Merrimack Defeats Stonehill in Regional Clash, 9-0 - Stonehill

Stonehill

Merrimack College

Doubles

Steven Francis / Mikhail Belov (MER)
def. Thomas Bellio / Nikolay Lisichenok (STO)

8-2

Miguel Belfort / Vince Bellino (MER)
def. Tom Alaimo / Jon Sanders (STO)

8-6

Frank Vega / Nick Majewski (MER)
def. Jared Drzal / Tom Buckley (STO)

8-3

Singles

Steven Francis (MER)
def. Thomas Bellio (STO)

6-1, 6-4

Miguel Belfort (MER)
def. Tom Alaimo (STO)

6-0, 6-2

Mikhail Belov (MER)
def. Jared Drzal (STO)

FINAL - RETIREMENT

Vince Bellino (MER)
def. Nikolay Lisichenok (STO)

6-1, 6-2

Frank Vega (MER)
def. Jon Sanders (STO)

6-2, 6-3

Nick Majewski (MER)
def. Philip Klados (STO)

6-4, 5-7, 10-8

full stats

Junior Philip Klados went to three sets before falling at No. 6 singles. (PHOTO BY Andrew Katsampes)

Francis and Belov lead Warriors to seventh win in eight matches

NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. (April 16, 2015) – Merrimack College, ranked third in this week's NCAA Division II East Regional rankings, claimed a 9-0 victory over ninth-ranked Stonehill College in Northeast-10 Conference men's tennis action at North Andover High School this afternoon.

Merrimack's regionally-ranked tandem of sophomore Steven Francis (Perth, Australia) and Mikhail Belov (Krasnoarmeyskoy, Russia) led Merrimack to its second straight win and seventh out of eight matches overall. The tenth-ranked doubles team in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) East Regional rankings led a sweep of the three doubles matches for the Warriors with their 8-2 triumph at No. 1. Francis, ranked 16^th in the ITA East Regional singles rankings, added a 6-1, 6-4 decision over Stonehill freshman Thomas Bellio (Saint Joseph, Michigan/Saint Joseph), while Belov, ranked 17^th in the ITA regional singles rankings, added a point while leading 6-4, 2-0 when senior Jared Drzal (West Sayville, New York/Sayville) withdrew.

Stonehill junior Philip Klados (Lake Forest, California/Santa Margarita Catholic) went into a third set at No. 6 singles with sophomore Nick Majewski (Brewster, Massachusetts/Nauset) before falling 6-4, 5-7, 10-8. Majewski, junior Miguel Belfort (Caracas, Venezuela), senior Vince Bellino (Amesbury, Massachusetts/Andover) and freshman Frank Vega (Lima, Peru) all earned singles and doubles points for the Warriors.

Stonehill (13-5, 7-2 NE-10) closes out the regular season on Saturday when it hosts Le Moyne College for its Purple & White match on Senior Day at Charles Watt Tennis Courts at 1 p.m. Merrimack (9-6, 8-0 NE-10) hosts American International College tomorrow at 3 p.m.

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